Seoul National University (SNU) engineering students and renowned scholars from prestigious foreign universities have questioned the Moon Jae-in administration's anti-nuclear policy, claiming the government's stance is a "serious threat to the nation's engineering industry."

Student council members of SNU's department of engineering recently held a press conference to issue their statement about the government's "unilateral" anti-nuclear policy.

The announcement was made as the Office for Government Policy Coordination is slated to submit its proposal with the government about whether to halt construction of reactors 5 and 6 at the Shin-Kori Nuclear Power Plant.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination is the prime minister's secretariat that collects extensive opinions from the public and experts for the decision.

"The government's sudden nuclear-exit policy has jeopardized the public and private sectors' efforts for next-generation nuclear projects overseas," SNU's department of engineering students council said.

"A number of joint nuclear projects between academia and government have been suspended under the government's guidance. It really discourages students with related majors."

"We came to Korea to provide correct information about nuclear power with the Office for Government Policy Coordination," they said.

"In order to replace Korea's nuclear power with solar energy generation, it will need a land site seven times larger than Seoul. If it is to replace its nuclear power with natural gas, possible carbon emissions are expected to be equivalent to emissions from 27 million cars. Prevailing fear about nuclear power here is based on false information."

In July, a consortium of three construction companies led by Samsung Construction & Trade delivered complaints to the government for unilaterally halting construction of the Shin-Kori reactors.

They said the government unilaterally stopped the project for no legitimate reason while failing to suggest any plans to reimburse them for additional expenses caused by the measure.

"The suspension of the construction project at reactors 5 and 6 has become a national concern, and it is a very important issue for the local economy," Samsung C&T said in the complaint. The Seoul-based builder has a 51 percent share in the consortium.

Timothy Yeo acknowledged there was fear and anxiety among Koreans following the 2011 Fukushima meltdown in Japan following an earthquake and tsunami. But the former member of the U.K. Parliament representing South Suffolk and chairman of New Nuclear Watch Europe said nuclear power is safe.

"If Korea reduces its dependence on nuclear power without sincere consideration on how to fill the power gap with its nuclear power plants gone, the Korean people and their industries should take the burden of higher electricity fees and production costs. And that would be a mistake. I believe the level of Korea's energy technology is good enough to prevent nuclear-related accidents from happening," he said.